YEREVAN. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday received EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber, who will soon assume another job.

The Armenian President thanked Mr Salber for the efforts exerted by him during the term of his office, wishing him success in his new activity.

At the meeting, the sides referred to the prospects for the further development of Armenia-EU relations and cooperation. The President and the EU Special Representative praised the level of Armenia-EU relations. Sargsyan also thanked the EU for the support provided by EU Regional Trust Fund Madad to the Syrian Armenians, who received asylum in the country.

Apart from this, Serzh Sargsyan and Herbert Salber referred to the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict and the recent developments in the Karabakh conflict zone. The President expressed concern about the fact that the Azerbaijani side continues its provocative policy, increasing the tension and disobeying the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The EU Special Representative, for his part, stressed that the EU continues to consider that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and that it is necessary to exert efforts towards avoiding the escalation and paving the way for the negotiation process.